It is Wednesday - which, in the Northern European end of things, is Woden's Day. Therefore, as has become our custom … fine Shaivite devotional (A)Art-i posting. Now this beautiful depiction has been upon my mind for some weeks now - because if you were asked to draw a fearsomely formidable Lord of the Wind … Continue reading The Sogdian Shiva Weshparkar of Panjikent – Arte-Facts #13
Central Asia
On The Tocharian-Sourced Indo-European Toponymy For The Qilian Shan – And Associated Mytho-Linguistic Elements Running Right The Way Up To Kailash
For the past few days, I have been looking once more at Indo-Europeans in Central Asia - and even proximate to China. It is quite remarkable what there is out there, even if much of it has been forgotten or elsewise obscurated via the ravages of time. Now, these days the Qilian Shan refer to … Continue reading On The Tocharian-Sourced Indo-European Toponymy For The Qilian Shan – And Associated Mytho-Linguistic Elements Running Right The Way Up To Kailash
Against Spurious “Pre-Indo-European-Ization” Of Indo-European Elements
This happens remarkably frequently - both in terms of the linguistics, but also in terms of the mythology and theology. There's quite a number of spaces wherein some academic or other commentator with a personal theory (or, worse, an agenda) has latched on to something and gone "well this seems like it shouldn't be Indo-European … Continue reading Against Spurious “Pre-Indo-European-Ization” Of Indo-European Elements
Quenching Cyrus’ Blood-Thirst – The Tale Of Tomyris Of The Massagetae , A #GangSteppe Exegesis
'The Queen Tomyris with Cyrus II' - Art by Mossacannibalis This Is #GangSteppe I had been meaning to write of this occurrence for some time - as it's quite a resonant one for various elements of our work, in perhaps unexpected ways. Depicted is, as some of you could probably have guessed, the Massagetae Queen … Continue reading Quenching Cyrus’ Blood-Thirst – The Tale Of Tomyris Of The Massagetae , A #GangSteppe Exegesis
Shaivite Coin Of Kushanshah Peroz II – A Hindu God In Hindu Garb – Arte-Facts #9
Every so often, we happen across an artefact that seems to demand its own commentary-piece - both because of its sheer visual or historic impressiveness, yet also because it illustrates something … indeed several somethings … quite important for our ongoing work. This fine coin of Peroz II, the King of the Kushano-Sasanians, is just … Continue reading Shaivite Coin Of Kushanshah Peroz II – A Hindu God In Hindu Garb – Arte-Facts #9
The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm
One of the more seizing figures to have captured the imagination - both ancient and modern - is the Griffin (occasionally, and to my mind superiorly, spelled 'Gryphon'). Almost everybody knows it - a creature that is simultaneously leonine and aquiline. Part Lion, part Eagle. And usually pictured by us in its heraldic form, something … Continue reading The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm
Yama Iamso Coin of the Kushans, And What This Means For Central Asian Indo-European Religion – Arte-Facts #7
I've had this coin in my head for some days now - a golden coin of the Kushan king Huviska (who appears on the obverse), featuring what appears to be Yama on the deity side. Why? Because of the iconography with which Yama - here hailed as 'Iamso' - is displayed. He's holding a Spear … Continue reading Yama Iamso Coin of the Kushans, And What This Means For Central Asian Indo-European Religion – Arte-Facts #7
“Spend It Well”
"The coin in question, if you were wondering, is a Kushan minting from the reign of King Vasudeva, also a Hindu convert. Depicted on the right is Shiva with Nandi, and on the left, 'Oesho' - "Ishvara" ['God-Emperor'], another Epithet [and cosmological Function] of Mahadev, although also possibly [contingent upon which etymological theorizing we are … Continue reading “Spend It Well”
Make Afghanistan Gandhara Again
I have been told I bear a certain resemblance to this chap. Sculpted head of a Brahmin of the area now known as Afghanistan, dating from the 3rd-4th century A.D. It may seem somewhat curious to us now - when Afghanistan is mostly known to us as the area upon this Earth where "empires go … Continue reading Make Afghanistan Gandhara Again
arya-akasha 